Search This Blog

That Seventies Show: Alu Posto

Disclaimer: Since some buses have been burnt because I have used turmeric in alu posto I must stress once again that most of my recipes are built on instinct, inspired by what I see around me and my taste preferences. They are NOT text book versions of dishes assuming that there could be a single definition of 'authentic'.

To clarify I use cumin or even onions in alu posto because I like the flavours of both. I didn't use turmeric earlier but started doing so after seeing yellow alu postos served in Mumbai Bengali restaurants.\Noone has taught me this version, it is my version of alu posto and not the quintessential alu posto and it works for me.

So follow the recipe at your own risk.

29/7/12 Update

Cooked alu posto after ages today. For a series of cooking demos for an agency which is planning to create an online lifestyle channel.

Aluposto is a rare Bengali vegetarian classic. It's popularity cuts across folks from different communities. But then potatoes are addictive. As are poppy seeds! And no animals are harmed are in its making. So aluposto's universal popularity is no surprise. And, of course, there is the little detail of it being a very light and delicately flavoured dish.

Intrigued by the 'Seventies Show' tag? Well aluposto means potatoes (alu) cooked in poppy seeds (posto). The Flower Child of the food world.

I had not posted this recipe as most Bengali food blogs have it. We served it to Australian food blogger, Spice and More , and her lovely family when they visited us on Sunday night. Mama and Papa loved it and wondered why I hadn't put up the recipe so far. (The kids were jet lagged and sleeping inside). Taking up from the earlier poppy discussion, Spice and More told us about how she was once stopped at Singapore airport when she was taking khouskhous in for cooking. Now who would explain the magic of Lebanese cooking to the sniffer dogs and their vigilant masters?I used to count days for my trips back home when I moved into Mumbai. My mom's aluposto would call out to me. Survival warranted that I learn to make it myself. It is quite a simple recipe actually which I have learnt through trial and error. I have trained my cook, Banu, to make it. She made yesterday's version and I must proudly say that she did a very good job of it.So here's how you can make a heady aluposto for four:Ingredients:

1 table spoon cooking oil. While any oil will do, the traditional Bengali oil of choice is mustard oil. I can't stand it!

Process:

Heat oil in a pan

Add dry red chillies once the oil is hot

Let it splutter, add bay leaves

Let it crackle, add the black onion seeds

Add onion and stir till they turn translucent

Add potatoes (which should already be soft)

Add poppy paste

Add spices and a tea spoon of salt

Throw in the green chillies

Stir. Should be done in 5 minutes. Add a bit of water of the potatoes are hard

I like to dry the dish at the end and prefer the potatoes to have a slight edge or crunch. Ideally the potatoes should look braised. There are other versions which are slightly more soupy or squishy. I don't like themThis is best enjoyed with steamed rice. You can also have them with rotis or plain parathas. There is nothing to stop you from having them with bread or by itself either. It is addictive. You have been warned.

Popular Posts

Post synopsis: In this post I have written about home cooked Sindhi dishes such as the Sindhi mutton curry and a roti called dodoh that we had for dinner recently. I have also written about where to find Sindhi food in Khar and about how the Sindhis came to Mumbai and Khar. It is based on oral history so please write in if you have anything to add or correct about what I have written. Will be happy to incorporate with due credit. There is also a discussion on the side on whether curries HAVE to be coconut basedThe story of a delicious welcome back to Mumbai
We were checking out of our hotel in Gurugram the other day and were about to leave for the airport when I received a call from Dr Jawahar Panjwani.
Dr Panjwani lives in Khar in Mumbai and is an orthopaedic surgeon. He's treated me and members of our family and many of our friends too over the years.
This phone call though had nothing to do with back pain SOS relief, which is what my calls to him are usually about. Turned out t…

'Don't try this at home' is a book which chronicles the 'culinary catastrophes' of celeb chefs. The book is like the curate's egg. 'Good in parts'.

My recent botched attempt to make biriyani reminded me of the first time I tried to make hakka noodles. This was soon after we got married. I told K that I'd make noodles. My mom used to make it in Calcutta. I had seen her at various stages of making it and felt that I could crack it easily.

A while into the noodles and I knew that it was a 'historical blunder'. The noodles were soggy, squishy. I hoped to rescue it with lots of oil, sauce and ajino moto. But it turned from sticky to worse. I went into the next room where Kainaz was catching up with a childhood friend on the phone. One look at my face and she put the phone down and tried to calm me. The next day I went and asked a Chinese fod cart guy at Nariman Point about the secret to firm noodles. The kind guy in a loongi, was not flustered b…

A close friend of mine has become a dad recently. I am still trying to imagine him as a father and I must say visions of Steve Martin in The Father of the Bride often come to my mind.

However, it will be years before he has to throw out his daughter's boyfriends across the door. Right now he is planning for his daughter's annaprashon. This is a Bengali rice eating ceremony which celebrates a child's first bite of solid food. If memory serves me right then the honour of giving the first bite goes to the child's Mama (maternal uncle) if possible. There are other rituals too. For example the child is offered a lump of clay, a pen and a currency note. What he or she picks up is supposed to indicate the child's future profession (farmer, scholar, business). I must confess that my knowledge of rituals is a bit rusty though. Of course, there is a feast for guests.

My friend wanted my suggestions for the menu for the ceremony which he will hold in Calcutta. I am a strong bel…